I was a top student in America.

Chapter 107 I Can't Enjoy This Alone (Please Subscribe)

Li Ao had been to Professor Jensen's office several times before and was quite familiar with the place.

It didn't take him long to get to the door.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, and a familiar voice quickly came from inside: "Come in."

Li Ao pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing that Professor Jensen and David were both there, he politely greeted them: "Professor Jensen, David."

"Thank you for making the trip. Please have a seat." Professor Jensen's expression was concerned, but his tone was more serious than usual.

Li Ao pulled out a chair and sat down: "It's alright, I'll just treat it as exercise."

Next, under Professor Jensen's questioning, Li Ao recounted the events of the morning's seminar in their entirety.

After hearing what had happened, Professor Jensen seemed quite surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Besides studying university-level mathematics every day, you also specifically researched numerical computation and C++?"

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly: "Do you get enough sleep every day? Can your body handle it?"

Professor Jensen was aware of Li Ao's mathematical talent, but he did lack understanding of his coding skills.

It's important to understand that no matter how well one learns computer skills from a public high school's computer courses, it's impossible to reach a level where Professor Rudy would immediately decide to hire someone.

This means that Li Ao must have spent a lot of time studying it in private.

As a mentor, he inevitably began to worry whether this high-intensity learning pace would put too much strain on the child's body.

David, standing to the side, was filled with admiration.

He originally thought that Li Ao was chosen only because of that mathematical paper, but he didn't expect that he also relied on his equally solid coding and model analysis skills.

At the same time, it is difficult for even many geniuses to spread their energy in multiple directions and still take care of everything.

David couldn't help but chime in with concern, "Leo, you're still growing, so don't push yourself too hard."

"Professor, David, don't worry, I'm in perfect health," Li Ao smiled, his tone very confident.

"Just keep it in mind."

Professor Jensen nodded, then sat up straight and got to the point, "Since Rudy has already approached you, I'll be frank. You can participate in the physics department's project. Don't feel too much pressure; just treat it as an interdisciplinary practical experience."

He looked at Li Ao and carefully instructed him, "Also, our group's doctoral student Amber is also on that project. If you encounter any problems in your research, you can ask her for advice. Try not to let the project affect your normal studies and rest."

Keeping these instructions in mind, Li Ao nodded earnestly and thanked the professor, "Thank you, Professor. I know what to do."

"Leo, congratulations! You've officially joined Professor Rudy's project group. This will be a very valuable addition to your resume when you apply to universities."

After saying goodbye to Professor Jensen, David offered to walk Li Ao downstairs. As they walked down the corridor of Eckhart Building, he smiled and congratulated him repeatedly.

But after walking a few steps, David seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "I know that Professor Carlson and Professor Philip value you highly in the national team, but Professor Jason is also genuinely interested in you. When you apply next year, you should seriously consider the University of Chicago. It has a strong academic atmosphere and is close to home."

Li Ao nodded: "Yes, I will think about it carefully."

Upon reaching the lobby on the first floor, David brought up his fellow doctoral student, Amber, again.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. Amber from our group is also helping out with Professor Rudy now. She's two grades above me; she mentored me when I first joined the group. She's very nice and patient, and always willing to answer questions for newcomers." David paused, then smiled and continued, "If you have any questions about math, algorithms, or C++, feel free to ask her—"

consult."

As he said this, a barely perceptible glint of expectation flashed in David's eyes.

During this period, Li Ao published papers and received a perfect score on the IM0. Then, Professor Lu Di specifically requested to borrow his work. As a fellow doctoral student in the same group, he had already suffered countless setbacks.

This experience of being repeatedly defeated by a genius teenager shouldn't be something he has to endure alone.

Li Ao was unaware of David's complicated thoughts. He simply stopped and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for telling me all this, David."

He is currently learning numerical analysis, complex analysis, and C++, and will later be exposed to partial differential equations and large-scale numerical computation.

Having a helpful PhD student nearby to answer your questions at any time can undoubtedly save a lot of time spent figuring things out on your own.

This is definitely a good thing for him.

After saying goodbye to his senior, Li Ao rode his bicycle back to his apartment.

As soon as I pushed open the door to room 306, I saw Jamal sitting on the sofa.

-

Because he was thinking about borrowing a computer to go online, and also curious about whether Li Ao could "transform into the Hulk" at the national laboratory, he simply stayed here after finishing his training and didn't even go home.

Upon seeing Li Ao enter, Jamal immediately took off his headphones and stood up, his eyes full of anticipation as he approached, "How did it go? Can we go to the national laboratory?"

"Professor Jason has agreed and told me to report directly to Professor Rudy's project team tomorrow." Li Ao put down his backpack and gave a definite answer with a smile.

"I knew Leo would be a sure thing!" Jamal excitedly patted Li Ao on the shoulder. "If you really gain some superpowers there, don't forget your brother!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ao explained helplessly, "I'm going to participate in an academic project, not to be a lab rat exposed to gamma rays."

"That's just as cool!" Jamal grinned. "Argonne Labs, just the name sounds way better than our Wyndham High School."

The grandmother sitting beside her looked serious and, with her simple understanding, began to advise, "To be called upon by a university professor and to be associated with a national laboratory, this is an extremely rare opportunity. Normally, even regular college students might not be able to get involved in scientists' projects."

She paused, then continued earnestly, "Once you get there, work hard alongside those scientists. If you achieve something, when you apply to universities, the admissions officers will immediately know that you're a hardworking and reliable person."

Listening to his grandmother's instructions, Li Ao understood that the old lady had probably asked around among the neighbors all afternoon about what exactly the "national laboratory" was.

However, it is no easy task to stand out from the competition among many top teams and achieve results first.

Moreover, he is still unaware of Professor Ludi's project team's specific plans and research progress.

"Yes, I will do my best." Li Ao nodded.

After finishing his casual conversation, he turned and went into his small bedroom, where he turned on his secondhand laptop.

The immediate priority is to review my notes on two-dimensional lattice models, discrete energy functionals, boundary weights, and spectral radius estimation.

Only in this way can he quickly get started and keep up with the team's work pace when he reports to the project team tomorrow.

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